C-Thru fragrances et al from Sarantis Group: some musings

Many of you must have seen the new advertisements and editorials on the newly exported fragrance line C-Thru in Allure magazine and been wondering about them. The line comprises of identically shaped/designed bottles in different shades with various gemstone names corresponding to different scents. As they have been produced by the Greek company Sarantis for quite a few years I am in a position to let you know that they're competently made but rather derivative of well-known styles of fragrances that are popular, offering a low-budget solution of a twist yet without them being dupes. After all, their motto is "great brands for every day".
C-Thru of course stands for See Through which evokes both the diaphanous packaging but also -subliminally- the showcasing of one's personality through their scent choice and the fantasy taking flight via choosing a personal fragrance, as if our eyes "see through" a story. I think the name choice for the line is quite clever, actually!




The Greek-aired commercials featured Andriana Sklenarikova-Karembeu, extremely popular in Greece because her footballer husband had at the time signed a contract with a Greek football team and thus Andriana was a common sight in the fields and the streets of Athens. Comparatively the US-airing commercials are less "sharp" and more "romantic".
The line consists of gem-named fragrances in Eau De Toilette 75ml, Eau De Toilette 30ml, Deodorant Body Spray 100ml and Natural Spray 75ml.
The company urges us to "Discover...
...the purity and fascination of water in Aqua Marine,
...the warmth and nobility in Ruby
...the sparkling light in Emerald
...the vitality and beauty in Amethyst
...the ultimate love and eternity in Black Diamond
...and the purity and luminocity in Pearl Garden".

Sarantis has never been short of budgeting nor attention given towards their advertising, producing small "films" that have actually a story-line and recognisable frontmen, judging by their B.U. (ie. Be You) fragrance line especially (a comparable project with mass-market fragrances encased in tin cans looking shiny and bright on the drugstore aisles), when they hired local pop-sensation Sakis Rouvas to front their commercials, quite memorably.



And they had also the good instincts to hire Christina Aguilera for their more "out there" fragrance line Xpose (with the characteristic netting on the bottles recalling both fishermen's nets and spider webs, entangling men).



From a marketing point of view, the expansion into the very competitive market of the US, especially in terms of drugstore and mass-distribution (let's not forget the giants Bath & Body Works and Coty), is well-timed. Sarantis has striken when the drop in consumers' buying power is directing them to 'combustible' products that do not present a huge commitment but brighten their day a bit with their optimism. The fragrances are shiny, fun, and tongue-in-cheek enough and I bet they seem completely exotic due to their origin to the average American consumer. Are they really that exotic smell-wise? Not really. The company kept that characteristic Mediterranean touch for their Olympic products called Olympic Spirit commemorating the Athens Olympics of 2004, which are now sadly quite rare to get.

But my favourite commercials were shot for a masculine fragrance: to follow on the next post!

Clips originally uploaded on Youtube.

Blast from the Past

Perfume advertising has progressed a lot and never is this more obvious than upon viewing old cheesy commercials with a retro touch, such as my selection here today.

Sharon Stone appears in her overstyled, overcoiffed youth in a 1983 commercial for mass market Revlon fragrance Charlie.
Do note how similar the condo with the pool looks with the famous one shot for Chanel No.5 with Carole Bouquet from around the same time frame!



A 1992 Exclamation commercial reminds me of clothes designs from the 80s and shoots from the French Elle magazine.



And Coty relaunches L'Aimant in the 1980s with this commercial which not only mangles the pronunciation, but also manages to commit a grammatical mistake on the very packaging of the flanker fragrance, L'Aimant Eternelle. Sadly, l'aimant (=the magnet) is a masculine name in French...(therefore it should have been éternel). C'est la vie! Better luck next time.



Clips originally uploaded by Robatsea2008, macrosunshine, attariman1988 on Youtube

Miss Dior Cherie by Dior and Sofia Coppola

If the winter doldrums have taken their toll on your mood and it needs to be alleviated, we have a little cheering up for you: The director's cut of the new commercial for Christian Dior's Miss Dior Chérie fragrance in a high quality video-clip is here on Perfume Shrine for your delectation! Directed in a deliriously and infectiously happy mood by Sofia Coppola ~of "Lost in Translation" and "The Virgin Suicides" fame~ it features model Maryna Linchuk and the song "Moi Je Joue" (=me, I play) by Brigitte Bardot. One of the few Bardot hit-songs not written by Serge Gainsbourg by the way. (You can watch the original song with pics of Bardot here).




The super cute spring-like feel of traipsing through the cobblestone roads on a bike wearing a pastel dress makes me yearn for my spring break while the displayed macaroons in every shade of the rainbow with the Dior bottle as a comparable delicacy amongst them makes it hard to follow a strict dietary regimen (not that Maryna Linchuk needs it!). As if to consolidate the idea of whose designer house the fragrance is, we also get to watch Maryna trying on dresses in bright, upbeat hues in the Christian Dior couture house.




The balloons remind me of the airborne hot-air balloon in the commercial for Yves Saint Laurent Paris fragrance. Obviously Paris in the collective subconsious of cinematographers is tied to balloons! Let's hope not to air-headness (hot or otherwise) though, because it would be completely unjust. It's interesting to note that in this clip the Miss Dior Chérie bottle rests atop a 60s-styled issue of Vogue magazine on the dresser, its pedigree and artistic history a subtle allusion to the history of Dior's house as well. Even though the travesty of emblazoning a semi-old name (Miss Dior is the classic of classics perfume of Christian Dior) on a completely novel scent is confusing to the 9th degree, you have to admit!
The old school cinematography more than makes up for it, nevertheless, recalling a more colourful take on sixties New Wave French cinema making me almost close to revisiting the tooth-achingly sweet fruity floral of Miss Dior Chérie: Who said advertising is not an art-form?

Previous, less successful in my opinion, commercial clips for Miss Dior Chérie can be found here (with Reiley Keough) and here (a making of, with Lily Donalson).Notice a hair-colour pattern throughout? Just saying!

Related reading on Perfume Shrine: Advertising series, Christian Dior series.

Clip originally uploaded by aymarius on Youtube. Pics via fashionphotography.blogspot.com

When Perfume and Art Nostalgically Mix

One of the most nostalgic perfume commercials I always remember with a pang of melancholy in my heart is the one for Cacharel's fragrance Loulou from 1988. Inspired as it was (along with the perfume itself) by Louise Brooks and her ethereal, yet also devilish character in Pabst's Pandora's Box and the cryptic message of a knowing wink beneath a heavy dark fringe it produced a soft spot for every aspiring coquette aged very, very young-ish. The scent caressed every nook and cranny with its voluptuous yet somehow innocent, powdery sweet aura: the seduction of a creature this side of Lilith. And it didn't help that the haunting melody echoed in my ears for years as one of the most touching elegies I have heard to the colour blue in all its literal and figurative permutations...
My joy on finding it (even in its Italian version), after all these years thanks to the wonders of technology, has revealed that its pearly veneer hasn't lost its lustre in my mind and it still produces a sigh of delightful and wistful reminiscence in me, like a dog who is sighing, her paws tucked in and her ears down at the completion of a tender, sad patting as if to part forever.



And here is the divine soundtrack to the above commercial in its full glory: "Pavane, Opus 50" in F-sharp minor by Gabriel Fauré, set to images of impressionistic paintings by Monet.



Do you have a perfume that produces such synaesthetic responses in you? I'd be interested to hear.

Loulou clip originally uploaded by Shescom on Youtube. Pavane clip uploaded by andrewgrummanJC on Youtube.

The New Angel by Mugler has Fallen from the Skies

We had announced some months ago that Naomi Watts will be fronting the new campaign for Thierry Mugler's iconic gourmand Angel. The line got renovated with new packaging, new advertising images and a boost in the body products out of which the Perfuming Cream is standing out as an exquisite substitute for the truly potent perfume in a new guise of blue-hued smoothness. The old version was almost perfect as it was so I was skeptical on how they could improve, but trying out the new sample surpassed my memories of the old one. Indeed it manages to aromatize the skin for hours on end and since it has lower sillage than a spray it is an excellent choice for those who love Angel but are afraid to impose that love to others around them. The makers have patented a new Intense Diffusion System (IDS) which supposedly diffuses the scent better on skin. My only gripe is that the new jar looks rather less friendly for travelling, as it is heavy and has stars in crystal relief all around.

The new commercial starring a star-struck Naomi Watts, directed by Bill Condon (of Dreamgirls fame), is airing just now. Although voluptuous was not the first adjective I associated Naomi Watts with despite my admiration for her acting chops which she has displayed in numerous films, I have to admit she did a very credible job ~OK apart from her pronuniation on the French Thierry Mugler name which remains...Anglo-Saxon in intonation. (It can be heard at the the official website). Her waist cinched into a Mugler corset and her long blond hair in dented retro waves she looks radiant and fairy-like.
Thierry Mugler himself seemed very convinced of Naomi's capacities (watch a small interview segment here) so who are we to disagree?






The magical atmosphere of catching a fallen star, like a retrogade into childhood wishes and dreams, is echoing the scent of Angel the fragrance with its fun-fair smells of chocolate, candied apples, cotton candy and sawdust.
I have always been interested from a cinematic point of view on how those commercials get created and so these storyboards for the new commercial with Naomi Watts as face of Angel have provided a much sought-after glimpse into the creative process.

You can visit the new Angel website for lots of info on the products and a look into the making of the new campaign. (choose "A new icon" and then from the drop-down menu choose "The making of" option. It will also give you a chance to hear Debussy's Clair de Lune as they were shooting scenes of the commercial)

In the interests of full disclosure, I got sent the print material and a sample of the new Perfuming Cream as part of the Angel loyalty programme, which I am highly recommending if you buy an Angel product (there is a small pamphlet in the box which you get to fill in and mail).Clip uploaded by ThierryMuglerParfums on Youtube.

Notorious by Ralph Lauren: new fragrance and commercial

“The roles have made me famous, but my life has made me Notorious,” says Laetitia Casta (does she realise the ambivalence of the term, I wonder!), iconic French model and budding actress who stars as the sultry face of Notorious , the new Ralph Lauren fragrance in a new advertising campaign by Michael Thompson that will debut in September 2008. Renowned director Wong Kar Wai (also responsible for the magnificently gothic commercial of Midnight Poison) exhibits his film-noir side in this black & white short film that takes its inspiration from Golden Hollywood heroines such as Lauren Bacall from "The Big Sleep" and even Faye Dunaway from "The Thomas Crown Affair". But the name "notorious" evokes most strongly the eponymous 1946 psychological thriller by Alfred Hitchcock starring Ingrid Bergman and Cary Grant. Then again, the featuring of poison in that film should better have escaped them...the associations with a liquid product could become unfortunate.

Perfumer Olivier Gillotin created Notorious, a sparkling spiced oriental, "of timeless intrigue and boundless desire" as the ad copy claims, to be as provocative and commanding as the woman who wears it.

Notes:Top: Black Currant, Spicy Pink Peppercorn and Italian Bergamot
Middle: Chocolate Cosmos*, White Frost Peonies, Fiery Carnation
Base: Patchouli Musk, Vanilla, Orris

Laeticia, all page-boy hair mysteriously falling over one eye, is wearing -what else?- Ralph Lauren clothes at some of Paris most striking endroits: a cafe beneath the Palais de Tokyo, at the Théâtre des Variétés and on Pont Alexandre III bridge over the Seine. Music score is aptly chosen: Miles Davis' "Maids of Cadiz". We're proud to feature it first. Please enjoy!



And if this has whetted your appetite, here is the "making of" as well:



Notorious will be available in Eau de Parfum spray 75ml/2.5oz.($85), 50ml/1.7oz.($65) and 30ml/1oz ($45), Body Lotion(200ml/6.7oz. for $45), Shower Gel(200ml/6.7oz for $40) and Body Crème(150ml/5.3oz for $70) at ralphlauren.com and major department stores.

*{Chocolate Cosmos, a decadent, chocolate-scented burgundy flower, is said to be used for the first time ever in Notorious, suppossedly evoking floral decadence in the mid-notes}.

Clips originally uploaded by RLTVralphlauren on Youtube.
Pics and info on scent via press release

The new Shalimar by Guerlain commercial with Natalia Vodianova

A few days ago we introduced the new face of Shalimar by parfums Guerlain, Natalia Vodianova, shot by Italian photographer Paolo Roversi. The ad prints that will appear in major fashion and beauty magazines only give a hint of the upcoming advertising campaign, apparently.
Perfume Shrine is proud to be the first to feature the newest commercial of Shalimar, with Natalia Vodianova, today, kindly supplied by one of our readers who wishes to remain anonymous.
Our newest info suggests that Natalia Vodianova will also be fronting Guerlain's makeup and skincare starting January 2009.
The TV and cinema commercial of Shalimar is full of sensual images of a naked Vodianova, wriggling on an unmade bed, the voiceover recalling the famous Marilyn quip about wearing a few drops of Chanel No.5 in bed, but also visually echoing the controversial campaign of Calvin Klein's newest feminine scent Secret Obsession in which an object(the fragrance) becomes a psychological relation to emotional response. It is almost as if the emotion is transfered onto the object befitting Freudian analysis.



The concept seems to be focused on a conversion between lovers following a passionate tryst, with the man asking the mystery ingredient that accounts for what sounds like an unforgetable memory.
"Qu'est-ce que tu portais sur ta peau?" (what were you wearing on your skin?)
"Quelques gouttes de Shalimar!" (A few drops of Shalimar)

Then again, the immortal dialogue* from Godart's Le Mépris with Brigitte Bardot, reprised in Chanel's latest lipstick commercial* for Rouge Allure, is rather unsurpasable...


*{Click the links to watch!}

Stay tuned for upcoming reviews and little known info on Shalimar as well as its flankers, Shalimar Light (Eau Légère) and Eau de Shalimar.

Ad print courtesy of French Madame Figaro 30th August 08.

Optical Scentsibilities: It's Not Just a Game!

Some things are destined to become classics:In more ways than one.
The Thomas Crown Affair (1968), directed by Norman Jewison and starring Faye Dunaway and Steve McQueen, is memorable for its tour-de-force of cinematography, split-scenes direction influenced by pioneer Canadian film In the Labyrinth and for being an all around high-class piece of entertainment. Not in its time though! Typical...
It also featured a masterful and infamous scene of chess-cum-seduction where chess pieces are used as metaphores, self-caresses as innuendos and the camera swirls around them in the longest kiss imaginable.



The advertisers of Hai Karate (you don't want to know how the name ties in) ~a popular aftershave product that was circulating on the cheap during the 60s and 70s in the US and UK~ got inspired.



If you can get past the bits of scatological humour and the wooden acting of Heather Graham, watch the Bond spoof Austin Powers, The Spy Who Shagged Me for a hilarious spoof of the above scene too.

The Thomas Crown Affair chess scene clip originally uploaded by erectushomo, the Hai Karate commercial from the 70s by fishnchimps on Youtube.

When Magic is not Enough ~L'instant Magic by Guerlain: fragrance review

A caress of flowers and woods… That's how L'instant Magic , a flanker to the original L'instant by Maurice Roucel for Guerlain, was introduced to the public last September. The anticipation was mostly accountable to its being a new Guerlain for the mainstream distribution as opposed to their exclusive boutique scents; a challenging feat. Yet the resulting pastiche leaves something to be desired, highligting the all too painful division between both the glorious delicacy of yesteryear such as Chant d'Arômes but also the brave stance of modern additions such as Insolence.

"After a bergamot opening, the fragrance unveils a musky-floral heart with fresh notes of rose and freesia. The white-musk dry-down worked into a ‘muscinade’ (a wink and a nod to the famous Guerlinade) is warmed up with woods and a touch of almond."
Designed by Randa Hammami of Symrise, in collaboration with Sylvaine Delacourte, artistic director at Guerlain, L'instant Magic launched in September 2007. I had resisted reviewing it for months, because I was hoping that I was oblivious to some hidden charm that would reveal itself to me in a flash of apocalyptic glory when I was least expecting it.
However, with the apostasis of several months and numerous trials, I can safely say that it didn't live up to my expectations. Not to mention that the linguistically schizophrenic name irritates me (shouldn't it have been "Magique" since the rest of it is French?)

The fragrance itself fails to capture me aesthetically, but also on a cerebral level: if one wants an almond gourmand ~as surmised by the marzipan paste detectable after the initial burst of Earl Grey tonalities in L'instant Magic~ one needs to see no further than Hypnotic Poison with its dare and sexy attitude; if one seeks a feminine musky floral with a "clean" feel , then Hammami's Cruel Gardenia is so much better; if the pursuit is instead focused on a smooth woody fragrance for women, then Flower Oriental by Kenzo fits the bill with less pretence and more conviction. L'instant Magic tries to be too many things at once, failing to bring a coherence of vision.
The overall effect is startingly un-Guerlain-like with a sweet, rotten fruits vibe which seems so fashionable right now; but whereas the original L'instant by Roucel ~more or less also separated from the Guerlain tradition~ managed to be nuzzlingly pleasant and addictive to its fans, L'instant Magic is a departure to a destination best forgotten where magic has escaped like a djin who left the bottle long ago.

The bottle reinterprets the curves of the original L’Instant, but the base of the bottle and the surface of the cap are black.
The commercial was directed by Jean Bocheux, featuring rather indecently-clad model Michelle Buswell ascending what seems like a never-ending staircase to who knows where and who cares anyway.



L'instant Magic comes in Eau de Parfum 80ml/2.7oz, 50ml/1.7oz and 30ml/1 fl. oz.; Extrait de parfum bottle 7.5ml/¼ fl.oz, Magical Body Lotion 6.8 fl. oz, Magical Shower Gel 6.8 fl. oz.
Available from major department stores.

Ad pic courtesy of Fragrantica. Clip originally uploaded by MollyPepper1 on Youtube

New from Kenzo: Power for men

Kenzo is fond of flowers and thus in an unexpected twist he bases his latest fragrance for men on their image. Specifically he has envisioned the abstract tulipe sauvage: wild tulip, which Olivier Polge has materialised into Kenzo Power, a fragrance that encompasses the notes of bergamot, coriander, cardamom and cedarwood in a fresh woody composition which incarnates the new man according to Kenzo.
Power rhymes brilliantly with Flower, the bestseller for women by Kenzo, which also focuses on an imaginary vision of a flower: poppy, this time. Flowers for men have seen a resurgence lately, after the gignatic flop of Incense by Givenchy which attempted to break the mould and offer just that: a floral for men. The rise of metrosexuals however signals a new lease for life for this genre and already Farhenheit 32 and Fleur du Mâle with their abstract synthetic orange blossom, as well as Dior Homme with its rooty iris by the same nose as Power, have paved the path for a braver stance on the masculine-aimed shelves of the average department store.
Power doesn't sound too flowery, admitedly, but they promise a concept of assured power, masculinity and poetry as well, encased in a metal bottle that is inspired by the Japanese Saké bottles. First impressions talk about an overdose of spices for the fresh, biting effect, a powdery feel reminiscent of Dior Homme, aldehydic accents like Farhenheit32 and a salty aftertaste. It sounds like it should be an eminently fit to be shared between the sexes fragrance! Ladies take note!
We can but wait: the new fragrance comes out in 20 August in an Eau de Toilette spray 60 ml retailing for 53 €.
In the meantime I am leaving you with the artsy Japanese make-up and look of the Flower by Kenzo commercial from a few years ago.

Info and pic (photo Patrick Guedj for Kenzo) via aufeminin.com. Clip originally uploaded by SmokeyEye87 on Youtube

When it Comes to Scent: Are Men Animals?

In this recent discovery of Chanel commercials we spanned the spectrum from the surreal to the atmospherically descriptive and it's now time to come to the anthropologically evolutionary.

Without spoiling much of the fun of watching the Chanel Allure commercial unfold: Does the lost link still exert its powerful hold on hominids? This is a popular theory, if only because it makes for greater sales of fragrance. And subliminally we would all like to believe that subtle, invisible touches play a major part in human interaction. Wouldn't it be magnificently practical, unscrupulously cunning and efficiently manipulative to be able to rely on smells to produce the desired effect? Imagine the possibilities: attract those we desire, repel those we despise, batress our persona when talking to bosses and less-liked authority figures, invoke respect and then shed the cool facade before it becomes aloof, excite passions and then reliquinsh them when satiated or bored with the simple shoosh of an atomiser...Wouldn't it be something!
On the other hand is the sensitivity to smells and the desire to act upon them tied to neoevolutionary anthropology, attributing specific evolutionary features to specific cultures? Another issue that has its own little enigmas attached provoking heated debate along the nature or nurture dilemma.
And is this evolution strictly misandrous, since the evolution of women is sadly misrepresented, even in scientific circles?
Whichever of those issues applies, this is still a profoundly interesting commercial. Not to be missed!

*It appears to be a legitimate commercial. Interested to hear if anyone of you has seen it broadcast.

Clip originally uploaded by allaboutnemo on youtube

Is Poker a Game of Skill or Chance?

One of the joys of advertising apart from the stirring of the imagination is the recreation of other times with all the exquisite details of bringing an aura of a forgotten epoch into the here and now. For Chanel the mythical era has always been the 1920s & 1930s: the time when she revolutionized the fashion (and fragrance) industry. It comes as no surprise therefore that a little touch of that glamour resplendent with marcelled/bobbed hair and dark-shaded lids and lips should reappear from time to time modernised or not so much.
The following Chanel Chance parfum commercial subscribes to the latter tendency and comes from 2006, featuring male model Vincent Lacrocq and actress Amandine Maugy in a setting worth its art director's salt. From the sumptuous dresses to the intricate jewellery (oh, the briolettes chandelier earrings!) to the exquisite recreation of hair and makeup, the clip makes me want to jump right into La Règle du Jeu.



They're playing poker (oh so suggestive!), a game which has a reputation to proceed it. He has a straight flush hand, she has a royal flush!
Just how probable that is in a single table, you'd ask. Well, the probability of a straight flush is 0.0015% among 2,598,560 possibilities to be exact! Talking about imagination.

There is some doubt whether this is a genuine advertisement sanctioned by Parfums Chanel, in light of Amandine Maugy's site mentioning this is a "fausse pub", meaning a mock commercial. However it has definitely the air of a grand-scale production, which requires a skilled director and crew; not to mention the Chanel logo and the brandname Chance is not merely edited to appear at the end like in amateur productions, but it appears in the cards themselves: an inherent part of the plot! Therefore there seems to be some truth in it after all. I believe this has aired somewhere and if you do recall it, please say so! I'd love to find out.

Clip originally uploaded by Nepraustaburnis on youtube

I Don't Want to Set the World on Fire

Chanel makes some of the most stunning commercials for perfume.
Some of them are revered and well known to a greater or lesser degree, most of which we have already discussed here on the Shrine. Some are rather strange and compelling in their weirdness, some are unexpected modern little gems.
However I recently came across three truly exceptional and rare Chanel commercials and I want to share them with you on these pages, one by one. They are different, witty, visually and conceptually imaginative and they pose their own train of thought.

From 1982 with the infamous shadow of an airplane gliding up the Transamerica building in San Francisco comes the first one for Chanel No.5. That image must have made quite an impression in its day, long prior to days of terror, prompting Chandler Burr to reference it in his review of Rose Barbare: "sweeps over you like the silent, massive shadow of an Airbus A340, a tactile component that makes you narrow your eyes".
This Chanel No.5 commercial, taking its message one surreal step further than the 1979 Ridley Scott predecessor, is set to a cover of The Ink Spots hit "I don't want to set the world on fire" in a half minute that urges us to think out of the box.



Charles and Catherine share the fantasy of one of the greatest commercials ever made. From the merging master editing which takes the scheme of a French garden to fall on the black and white keys of a piano, them in turn giving way to the straight lines of train tracks and to urban skyscrapers' windows, it uses that wonderful perspective which makes the eye travel deeper and further into the background; prompting us to seek beneath the obvious, beneath the visual restrictions of reality into the unchartered vistas of the imagination and the power of olfaction that makes us dream.
And which question could be more personal than what is your perfume!
In my heart I have but one desire...

Clip originally uploaded by louisadeck on youtube

YSL Tribute Coming to an End...and a Little Poll

These past two weeks, ever since Yves Saint Laurent left this vain world for hopefully a better one (or so we have been lulling ourselves to sleep?), it has been a great pleasure writing about the fragrances of the Yves Saint Laurent brand, many of which have been firm favourites, or indeed faithful allies in everyday battles.

Even the ones that have not produced quite the same frisson of excitement in me, such as the otherwise competent spicy fougère Jazz for men (1988) or the girly-sweet Baby Doll (1999) have been additions which have caught my eye at some point for different reasons: if only because they were parts of a line that I liked.

Same goes for some rare ones, such as the unisex Eau Libre with its suave black models, a practice for which Yves was famous; or Pour Homme, his first masculine for which he himself posed in the nude questioning our acceptance of female nudity over male; or even the discontinued fruity Vice Versa.

And of course there are some other fragrances, such as the fabulous incense and spice fireworks of Nu (2001), the controversial M7 (2002) -with its alleged inclusion of agarwood/oudh for the first time in a mainstream fragrance and its provocative ads echoing Yves's nude- or the pleasant almond flower caressed by vanilla of Cinéma (2004); I opted to leave those for another time. The reason? They were created when Yves himself had already retired from his house and so his vision was not the driving force behind them. But they will soon get their share of criticism or praise on these pages.

So for now, a little visual love expressed in the elegant advertising and fashions of Yves Saint Laurent from the 1970s.
And two clips from later on: Jazz from the late 80s and Cinema from a few years ago.



And on to you, dear readers:
1.Which is your most favourite fragrance in the Yves Saint Laurent line?
2.Which is your most despised? Why?
3.And if you could suggest something for the brand for the future, what would that be?

Looking forward to hearing your responses!



For a review of YSL L'homme click here and for a commentary on Elle, click here.

Clip of Jazz uploaded by Ilovelowe and of Cinema by LightBlv on Youtube. Ad pics from the 70s: of Rive Gauche parfum(top left), Y (top right), Eau Libre (mid right) and Pour homme (mid left) from parfumdepub.

Stunning commercial for Y, by Yves Saint Laurent

Serendipity works in mysterious ways and often in reverse.
I found this amazing and rarely seen clip from at least two years ago, as part of a longer film about Tom Ford (?), for Y by Yves Saint Laurent, while searching for something else. It features model Elise Crombez (credit goes to cyrilguyot.com).
Please enjoy!

Clip uploaded by sweetrus on Youtube.

Behind the Knee...

A commercial NOT to be missed! An old, rare (never seen it linked before) clip for Chanel No.5 with Catherine Deneuve seducing us through the screen, talking about her man and how they indulge each other.
Click here to watch La Deneuve!

You've probably never seen it because they mispelled the Chanel name...

Next week we will tackle an exciting niche line flying under the radar, review vintage treasures and have lots of surprises to come too. Stay tuned!

Pic of 1970s ad via Okadi

New Face, New Scent: CK Secret Obsession & Eva Mendes

According to a WWD article Calvin Klein is launching a new feminine fragrance this autumn, fronted by sexy Latina actress Eva Mendes to a storm of controversy involving network censors. It was only the other day we were talking about the provocative advertising of original Obsession and here we are again!

The new floriental fragrance, named Secret Obsession, is due out in mid-September. Secret Obsession's juice was produced by Givaudan and art-directed by Ann Gottlieb and encompasses the following notes:
Top: exotic plum, mace and damascena rose
Heart: Egyptian jasmine, French orange flower and tuberose
Base: cashmere woods (a popular aromachemical smelling woody/musky), burnt amber, Madagascar vanilla and Australian sandalwood (since the Mysore variety from India is heavily restricted).

Mendes reportedly really loved it as soon as she tried it! She could be earning $3 million to $5 million over the life of a three-year contract for representing the fragrance, so she would say that, wouldn't she? Still, the composition sounds decent enough, so we will wait and see.
Right now it is the campaign that has the world abuzz. The ad campaign was art-directed by Fabien Baron and the commercials and print ads were shot by Steven Meisel.

"The Obsession brand resonates in a very provocative place," said Catherine Walsh, senior vice president of American fragrances for Coty Prestige, which holds the Calvin Klein Fragrances license. "And we wanted to do a provocative ad. But we're not trying to be raunchy. There's a lot of skin, but it's done tastefully."
Evidently not tastefully enough for the network censors, who have banned the ad. "Every time we do TV [with the Calvin brand] it comes back with some sort of push-back from the networks — but nothing like this. This time," she vowed, "we're going to fight."

Rumours say that it's a combination of what Mendes says — and doesn't say — to the accompaniment of provocative music and lots of skin. Reportedly the ad is open to interpretation, having Mendes talk about a sexy secret, leaving a lot to the imagination, which might conjure up wilder thoughts than what is actually happening. Coty executives declined to reveal the spot before its official unveiling which will happen in early June. (so stay tuned, we will present it when it airs!)

Mendes will also star in Calvin Klein's new women's underwear campaign this fall. According to Mendes herself, she was attracted by the idea of freedom of expression and the chance to appear different in a mainsteam venue:

"When I was approached by Calvin Klein, I thought that it would be so satisfying for me to be part of a campaign where I could show women and girls that it's okay to be different. I remember when the Obsession ads with Kate Moss came out— I thought she was so gorgeous. Kate wasn't a conventional beauty, her teeth weren't perfect and she wasn't blonde; my friends and I could relate to that. If I could provide that encouragement for someone with the Secret Obsession campaign, that would be amazing."

However executives are quick to point out that the new fragrance is really not a new twist, but a completely different perfume with merely a sexy image to share. "This is no flanker," said Walsh. Obviously the meaning of flanker eludes them, as the term is generally being used for fragrances that borrow the name or part thereof of a successful fragrance to boost the recognition factor of a new one. But maybe that's too subtle or splitting hairs.

"Obsession put Calvin Klein on the map in 1985 and continues to be an integral piece of the brand portfolio," added Michele Scannavini, president of Coty Prestige. "Over two decades later, we see it come full circle with Secret Obsession. While Obsession epitomized the overt glamour and sexuality of the Eighties, Secret Obsession will become the meaning of what is sexy today — more personal, sophisticated and intoxicating. Eva Mendes is a reflection of how things have changed over the past 20 years."

Eaux de parfum will be sold in three sizes: 1 oz. for $40, 1.7 oz. for $55 and 3.4 oz. for $72. (The 1-oz. size will be exclusive to Sephora). Two ancillaries will also be sold: a 6.7-oz. body lotion for $38 and a 6.7- oz. shower gel for $30. The scent will be available in about 2,200 department and specialty stores in the U.S. Globally, it will be available in all markets in which the Calvin Klein brand is sold.

Just as an aside: Eva Mendes is no stranger to glossies and advertising as she has posed for Revlon and neither to provocation, as attested by the following film in which she flaunts her assets alongside Joaquin Phoenix to the sound of Heart of Glass : We Own the Night.

So what say you: yay or nay for Eva Mendes and the new fragrance?

Pic via WWD.

Obsessive Compulsions

When Calvin Klein came out with Obsession and Obsession for Men in the 1980s, his reputation as a sexual provocateur was consolidated beyond any reasonable doubt. He had started with hinting at it through his infamous Jeans commercials featuring an underage Brooke Shields sineously asking "What comes between me and my Calvins?", to which the answer was of course "Nothing!"; but the perfumes had the potential of allowing so much more!
So today we're devoting space to a brilliant marketeer and the beautiful and disturbing connotations emerging from an admittedly legendary duo of fragrances.

In some cases the experiment was bordering on the paedophilic, earning Calvin a ban in the US with the following commercial which naughtily used the tagline "Love is child's play when you've known Obsession". But this only raised awareness of the brand, boosting sales. It was so infamous in fact that it got satirized on Saturday Night Live as Compulsion, hence the title of today's post.



And in some others, it took a turn for the utterly poetic, borrowing passages from literature accompanied by black and white artistic videos.
First from F.Scott Fitzerald and his The Great Gatsby (chapter6), in an ad directed by David Lynch and featuring Heather Graham and Benicio del Toro in 2001.



Or from D.H Lawrence, from Women in Love, again directed by David Lynch in the same year.




And then, there is this very funny reference to Obsession for Men in a very sweet, very touching, endearing little film, The Sum of Us, starring Russel Crowe, John Polson and Jack Thompson :
click here to watch the hilarious clip
Two potential partners who happen to be gay and share the fragrance one of them loves. And two dads respectively with funny quips about Obsession for Men: one unaware of the son's sexual identity and disapproving of the cologne, another good-naturedly accepting the lifestyle and raising a brow on excess...
But let's not spoil the fun (and a second scented reference towards the end!). Please watch for yourselves!

Clip of 1985 commercial of Obsession originally uploaded by beegib. Clips from 2001 uploaded by austinstar and spdelgado respectively.
Clip from the film The Sum of Us originally uploaded by Osloairport on Youtube.

To distract...

Bad news don't have to be announced beforehand, they strike like lightning in a sudden summer storm getting you out of your comfort zone into the realisation that things follow their own course no matter how you think they're going. I was about to do a little article on Caron in light of the recent discussions pertaining to their reformulation by Fraysse and how this affects them or not, intending to procure samples of the current version to compare with my own older batches. All in the aim of accurate reporting, bien sûr!

Alas, at least one gem I was anxiously waiting to see if it had been altered significantly (at least from the version that I enjoyed) was Alpona, that weird beast which fascinated me. Yet, according to The Scented Salamander, Alpona is no more... Shed a loving tear for this individual chypre that would have celebrated its 70 years in 2009. Probably succumbing under the weight of oakmoss restrictions, it has been discontinued. An urn perfume no less, which is foreboding.
Your last chance to grab it before it goes away for ever is at the Caron Boutique for $100 for a 1/4 oz of extrait de parfum to $ 520 for 200 ml. The New York City boutique can be reached at (212) 319-4888. An Alpona review is in the works and will appear on Perfume Shrine shortly!

But enough with the fragrance world gloom and in a playful attempt to distract you from such sad occurences I am hosting a little contest.
Here is a clip that acts as a collage of perfume clips for several fragrances. The reader who identifies the perfumes seen in the correct sequence wins a decant of one of my spring perfumes.



(uploaded by arturdvm)

Check back again for review and surprise posts!

Lamb, the fragrance

No, not Lamb by Gwen Stefani, lovely as the site might be.
Another one, which aired in Australia: a sure-fire man magnet!


(uploaded by melliepanther)

What do you think?